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inre WestofYou's list: If Haynes ends up being as good as Lon Warnecke, Burleigh Grimes, Phil Collins or Robin Roberts, I'd dance a jig nude in Fountain Square for my 75th birthday in 2004.

inre: red-in-la and Hayne's horrible July's: Looks like the historical numbers don't always indicate what a guy will do - so far his July's looking pretty good.

1 more win in July, 3 in August and 3 in September would add up to 18! That's very realistic at this point and if it happens, Jimmy has just priced himself out of Cincinnati ala Burba, Schourek, Wells et al.

CINCINNATI -- The Milwaukee Brewers weren't exactly awash in pitching talent last December when they decided to throw Jimmy Haynes overboard.

The Brewers, of course, had more than 2 million reasons to say aloha to Haynes. The lanky right-hander had posted a lackluster 8-17 record in 2001 but still was likely to see his $2.2 million salary swell in an arbitration hearing.

Milwaukee general manager Dean Taylor considered Haynes' inconsistent on-the-field numbers and concluded that offering arbitration to the five-year veteran would not be "financially prudent.'' Directions to the plank followed and Haynes had no choice but to walk it.

He splashed around until bargain-hunting Reds general manager Jim Bowden trolled along in the organizational row boat. Bowden tossed out a life preserver and Haynes happily grabbed ahold.

Four months into the season, the eventual $500,000 acquistion by Bowden has proved to be a godsend for the Reds and Haynes. He will take an 11-6 record into the 1:10 p.m. game Sunday against the New York Mets in Shea Stadium and has revived his career in the process.

"There were a few, maybe six or seven other teams interested in me,'' Haynes said. "But Cincinnati was the logical choice. A lot of the other places were pitching-rich already. So I knew coming here I'd have a better chance to make the team.''

He also had two valuable allies on the inside. Reds manager Bob Boone and pitching coach Don Gullett had seen enough potential from Haynes to lobby Bowden to invite him to spring training.

"Gully and I saw it last year,'' Boone said. "And we saw it in the spring. He didn't really have a great spring, but you could tell that he had experience and knew what he wanted to do. It's like you've had (five) years in the big leagues with 200 innings every year, now it's time to start learning what you're doing.''

Haynes has worked this year to sharpen his breaking ball and make the pitch what it was touted to be as he came up as a hot prospect through the Baltimore and Oakland organizations.

"This year we talked about throwing my curveball a little bit sharper and a little bit harder,'' Haynes said. "I've been doing that so far. I've been trying to get on front with it and get it to bite a little bit more.''

The growing consistency with that pitch is one reason he has won eight of his last nine decisions.

"Early in the year we were getting a good inning followed by a poor inning,'' Boone said. "We'd see his stuff starting to fall off. Now he's making good pitch after pitch and his velocity is lasting longer.''

With 62 games left in the season, Haynes should have at least 12 more starts and an outside shot at 20 wins. The turnaround means that much more lucrative waters probably lie ahead.

"I think he's in line for a pretty big raise,'' Boone said.

That would mean staying or leaving under his own terms this time.

"We'll see,'' Haynes said. "I mean I would like to stay here. We've got great team chemistry. But I've got awhile to think about that. I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing here. With negotiations going on in the labor stuff, there might not be any talks anyway. Who knows?''
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</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Old Red Guard:
<strong>If Haynes ends up being as good as Lon Warnecke, Burleigh Grimes, Phil Collins or Robin Roberts, I'd dance a jig nude in Fountain Square for my 75th birthday in 2004.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Ummm, do you have a teenage granddaughter that could do it for you?

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